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View a BAK file online, free

A .BAK file is a backup copy of another file. Open it to preview the saved contents and recover text, free.

Drop your .BAK file here

Opens your .BAK file right here.

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Up to 50 MB · 160+ text and code extensions
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100% free. No limits on use

What you get for a .BAK file

We don't have a dedicated viewer for this format, so we identify and inspect it instead — honestly, only what can be read from the file.

01

Drop your .BAK file

Choose it or drag it in. It's read right here in your browser.

02

We identify it

We read the magic bytes to tell what the file really is, its MIME type, and whether the name matches the contents.

03

See the details

Any metadata we can extract (dimensions, EXIF/GPS, document author and dates), a hex view, plus readable text and strings found inside.

What is a .BAK file?

Plain text that programs, servers and people write every day.

A .BAK file is a Firefox Bookmarks Backup created by Mozilla. It contains data used to restore saved web addresses within the Mozilla Firefox web browser. These files are typically opened and managed directly by the Firefox application.

Programs that open .BAK files

Windows
AutoCAD, 7-Zip, Notepad / any text editor, Original program (rename-back trick), SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
macOS
TextEdit, Original program (rename-back trick)
Linux
file + a text editor, Original program (rename-back trick)
.BAK format details
Full nameBackup File (generic)
DeveloperN/A (generic; written by countless programs — AutoCAD, SQL Server, editors, etc.)
First releasedConvention predates Windows; used since early PC software to keep a previous version
CategoryText & Code
MIME typeapplication/octet-stream

Related viewers

Every viewer is free to use.

Frequently asked questions

Is my .BAK file uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is read and highlighted for you.

Why do some characters look wrong (é, ł)?

That usually means the file was saved in one encoding and opened in another. We detect UTF-8, UTF-16 and the Windows-1250/1252 code pages automatically and show which one was used.

Can it handle huge log files?

Yes, up to 50 MB. Only the lines on screen are drawn, so scrolling stays smooth. Syntax colours are switched off for files over 1.5 MB to keep things fast.

How do the log level filters work?

We find levels like ERROR, WARN, INFO and DEBUG on each line. Lines without a level, such as stack traces, stay with the entry above them, so filtering to errors keeps the full trace.

Can I edit the file?

This is a viewer. To change code, download it or copy it into your editor. Converting encodings and line endings is planned.

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